Being from the states I am a relative nubbie to the whole Robbie Williams craze. Although I remember the song "Back for Good", I didn't remember Take That, let alone the fact that Robbie was in the group. Imagine my surprise, after I became a fan of RW's music. The Ego Has Landed is the first album I've bought in 6 yrs to inspire me get my hands on all the artist had to offer and a far cry from his boyband background. I chose "Life Thru a Lens" first, because I found out it was his debut solo album. And what an album! The song writing and melodies show a maturity that most artist don't accomplish until their sophomore album...if they're lucky. But the brilliant dichotomy of this work of art is the fact that the subject matter and angst in his voice, in his songs, reveal the growing pains of a person in the transition from from boy to man and all the normal turmoil that goes with it - the lost of a first love, difficult decisions, and completed by an ode to ones mother - as well as songs that divulge the underbelly of being an established star by the time you're 18. This is what pop should be.